Period of Adjustment

I am amused that this film based on Tennessee William's work got nominated as a comedy for two different cinema awarding bodies. If this is a comedy, so would Albee's "Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf" be termed a comedy. Can this work be called a black comedy? Even this is doubtful--you could call "MASH" a black comedy but not "Period of Adjustment."

The play made me sit up, not laugh. The play may not be of the same caliber as William's other work like "The Night of Iguana" or "The Streetcar named Desire" but it forces the audience to look inwards. Unfortunately, director George Roy Hill in his first regular film effort as a director does not display the capability that he showed in directing his later films ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting," "A Little Romance," etc.). He fumbles with his editing: the shift of scene from the Baitz' to the Haversticks on stage would have been aided by a curtain or the lights going off, but in this film the switch from Fonda/Hutton to Franciosa/Nettleton is too abrupt and confusing. Yet Roy Hill shows his capability of eliciting fine performances from his cast, especially Jane Fonda (as he did later with Redford, Newman and Lord Laurence Olivier), and the dog!

Viewing this film 40 years after it was made, one cannot but appreciate the values of Tennessee Williams (and George Roy Hill) and the subject under discussion. How many contemporary directors would venture to make a film of the play today?

The film is fine entertainment value for those who like a good play on film (you need cinema to show visual shock of viewing the hearse for the first time, the stage can never provide the same effect).

Nurse Isabel Crane (Jane Fonda) rushes to marry her patient, Korean War veteran George Haverstick (Jim Hutton). She's not happy that he had recently purchased a black hearse and they're driving away from their wedding in it. He quitted his job without telling her. His hands still shake from unknown afflictions. It's Christmas time. They're on their way to their Miami honeymoon but he's stopping in Tennessee to visit his war buddy Ralph Bates (Anthony Franciosa). Meanwhile, Ralph also his own problem within his marriage.

I don't know how this is a comedy. The music cues and the directions keep trying to drive it into the comedic arena. I don't see how this can be a comedy. Non of these people are appealing. There is too much anger for that. Their problems are serious. Their dysfunctions are terribly unfunny unless getting your young son burnt is hilarious to you. Getting yourself burnt can be lots of hilarity but this is not that. This seems to be a lot closer to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I would be interested in treating this Tennessee Williams play as a much darker drama.

Based on a play by Tennesee Williams, the story revolves around two couples-one that's fun to watch, and one that drags. Jim Hutton (Timothy's dad) and Jane Fonda play George and Isabelle Haverstick-a simple, bull-headed young buck and his high-maitenance southern belle bride who drop in on his 'ol war buddy (a handsome Tony Franciosa) married to an unhappy rich girl (Lois Nettleton fleshing out a very difficult role) around Christmas. Jim and Jane inject their characters with enough exuberance to shoot them to the moon; thus, they expose the rather bland quality in Ralph and Dorothea even though Tony and Lois are fine actors who do what they can. Director George Roy Hill tries to keep the action from being too stagy and is generally successful, though less so in the second half.

The main attraction here is Fonda: playing a sweet, jittery mouse with surprising outbursts of anger, she turns in a memorable comic performance. The desperate phone call to 'Daddy', her initial introductory scenes with Hutton, a tragic attempt to get her 'little blue zipper bag', and the first meeting with the Baitz's dog are beautifully done with gusto. If you look at her work here along with Barbarella, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Klute, and Julia-you'll see she had that rare quality few leading movie stars have: the ability to be a damn good character actor.

The movie's harmless fun and I recommend watching it under a blanket with a hot cup of cocoa, a roaring fire, and a lighted Christmas tree. Please read the review submitted by Eric Chapman. Enjoy!

... because it is just so doggone depressing! Only Williams can take Christmas Eve and turn it into a dysfunctional family fest that makes me want to throw myself out of a window, and definitely not have good will towards mankind! I didn't see the opening credits, so at the end it was no surprise who wrote the source material.

Jane Fonda and Jim Hutton play newlyweds Isabel and George Haverstick. And they apparently did not spend enough time together beforehand to see if they were compatible before hastily marrying. George is an inconsiderate jerk towards Isabel. Isabel is whiny and scolding. And each just ratchets up the unpleasantness in the other. They visit George's old Korean War army buddy, Ralph (Tony Franciosa), on Christmas Eve on their honeymoon. But in the meantime Ralph is having his own problems because he married his wife without love or physical attraction five years before, because of her father's money and position and him pushing the union, and she realizes this and has just left him.

So George seems more in love with Ralph and the idea of them running a dude ranch together than with this woman he just married, and the whole thing just turns into a shrill production. Humor is attempted with a bunch of drunken carolers who get more drunken with every house they visit, but by the end of the film they have just worn out their welcome. You can't convince me that there is going to be a happy ending for any of these people any more than you can convince me that there is deep snow in the deep south at Christmas, which in this film apparently there is.

I'd recommend it only for the players - Hutton, Fonda, and Franciosa, - who always turn in good performances like the troopers that they are.

I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it on TCM. I've always liked Jane Fonda, she is great in this picture. Its well acted and filmed. Its a beautiful movie. I liked the realistic look of the film. In digital it looked brand new, it looked as if it was modern film shot in B&W. Basically its about a couple having marriage problems. Its mostly a one scene shoot with a lot of dialogue. I really enjoyed it, like all Tennessee Williams play adaptations. This is a great movie for repeat viewing.